TV Commercials – More than meets the eye

For those not involved in the advertising industry, a TV commercial is TV commercial – there’s no two ways about it.

However, if you’ve studied this industry in further detail, you’d note that this is by no means true.

The television industry has progressed immensely over the decades, to an extent where there are umpteen different types of commercial available. If you were to ask an advertising guru such as Jonathan Disegi you would be presented with a whole host of options – with each one designed to benefit brands in slightly different ways.

Let’s now take a look at some of the most common forms of television commercials and how they can help companies.

The testimonial

This is turning out to be one of the easiest ways to display a product and if it’s linked to some sort of health problem, it’s the route which a lot of companies take.

In short, it will involve a past customer or expert making a testimony and highlighting their experiences with the product. It’s not the right solution for every product and service out there, but if you keep your eyes peeled you might note that it’s being used more and more.

Using celebrities as bate

While some companies might just use past customers or the ‘Average Joe’, others will dig a little deeper into their pockets and pluck out a celebrity to front their product.

Of course, by going down the celebrity route your company immediately appears more trustworthy as you’ve managed to entice a famous face on board. Additionally, most people like the idea of a perfect life and as most celebrities at least seem to live like this, it can make a product appear even more attractive.

The sitcom

Admittedly, this is an option that is unlikely to appeal to a small company as it does require a lot of time and unsurprisingly, resources. The idea is simple; the adverts use the same actors and tell a story.

This is another way in which companies can easily build trust in their brand. The actors become synonymous with the company.

Sex sells

It’s one of the biggest cliché’s in marketing, but it’s most definitely true. While TV commercials have to be quite careful in relation to what they output, particularly at certain times of the day, they will attempt to push boundaries when it comes to the sex sells route.

Usually, it will involve focusing on a good looking male or female and the fact that this approach has been used from everything ranging from chocolate to lingerie says everything about its versatility.

Association

While TV is a great medium for most industries – it’s not always perfect. Perfume companies for example will find it difficult to portray the scent of their brand across digital airwaves.

It means that association is often a route that is taken. This involves visualizing something and comparing it to something that is portrayed very easily on television.

Again, while perfume is a good example, food and all sorts of other industries take advantage of association as well.